Electrical connection.



P. E. GILLING. ELECTRICAL CONNECTION. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 29, 1910.

Patented Oct.

Fig. 1.

I WIT/458858.-

MTURMEY.

rnnsron E. GILLING, or EAST omen, NEW

ELECTRICAL connnc'rion.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

Application filed July 29, 1910. Serial No. 574,518.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Pnns'ron E. GILLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Electrical Connections, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide improved means for detachably connecting an electric conductor to a binding pgst or terminal; to enable the connection to made quickly and easily, and without the manipulation of movable parts, to secure a contact between the members connected, which shall automatically clean or scour the contact surfaces; to secure a strong construction of the connecting members so that their parts shall not pull away from one another or otherwise get out of order; to obtain a good contact and an effective connection for the transmission of electric current, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referrin to the accompanying drawings, in which 1' e. numerals of reference indicate the same parts throughout the several figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved connection; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same, taken through Fig. 1 on a plane parallel with the plane of the paper; Fig. 3 is a side view of a certain resilient clasp-which is shown in edgeview in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows in perspective a cer-' tain headed clamping member; Fig. 5 is an end View of said clamping member with the conductor connected thereto; 6 is an underneath view of a grooved washer which lies against the ends of the conductor as connected to said clamping member, Fig. 7 shows in edge view and plan a lock washer which may be employed, and Fig. 8 is a er- I 've View of a certain ferrule w 'ch preierabl forms part of the connection.

- In sai drawings, 1- indicates a ball or sphericslhead upon any kind of a terminal to which it is desired to detachably connect an electrical conductor. I have shown said head upon the top of a spark plug, for purter oft poses of illustration, but it will be understood that the spark plug forms no part of the present invention, and the spherical head or ball 1 could be upon any other kind of a terminal whatever. The said ball or spherical head 1 is adapted to be grasped between the resilient arms 2, 2 of a clasp 3 of general U-shape, said clasp being preferably stamped out of'sheet metal with its arms 2, 2 substantially arallel. The ends of the two arms are per orated, as at 4, and around each perforation the metal of the arm is pressed or stamped inward, so as to form at the inner side of each arm an annular transversely-rounded rib 5 and at the outside of the arm a corresponding groove 6.

It is between the two annular ribs or bosses 5 that the ball 1 is grasped, and obviously the engagement of the ball with each of said bosses is ,a line contact. This not only allows great freedom of the clasp 3 to move in any direction upon the ball 1, without disengagement there rom, but also insures that no dirt or other foreign substance can lodge between the contacting surfaces of the ball or head 1 and the clasp 3. In fact, the clasp in -swingin or moving about upon the'ball 1,-'will ten to scour or clean the contact surface thereof.

-' The clasp 3 is shown as attached to the end of a conductor 7, and such attachment 'is efiected in the following manner: The insulation of the conductor iscut away to expose an end portion of the wire 8 and then. the strands of said wire are divided into two diverging groups 9 and 10. These groups of strands are passed through opposite slots 11 and 12 in the adjacent disklike end 13 of the clamping member 14, and wound around the threaded stem 15 which projects from the opposite side of the disk 13. A washer 16 is then laid upon said ends 9 and 10 of' the conductor, said washer preferably having at its face next said ends an annular groove to wedgingly receive them. A ferrule 18 is then placed over the end of the conductor, .said ferrule being at its 0111]? end of substantially the diameconductor 7, and being reduced at its other end, or having inturned edges 19 which overlie the washer 16 and fit looselyaround the stem 15. The threaded stem 15 is then screwed into the base 20 of the clasp 3, and obviously said .clasp is drawn tight against the top of the ferrule 18 on its outside, while the disklike head 13 of the clamping member 14, with the conductor ends 9, l0 and Washer 16 thereon, is drawn tight against the top of the ferrule 18 on its inside. Preferably a lock washer 21 consisting of a split ring, is placed between the top of the ferrule 18 and bottom of the clasp 3 to lessen the danger of unscrewing by vibration or jarring. For greater finish and convenience, an insulating sleeve 22 of hard rubber or the like incloses the ferrule 18 and end of the conductor 7, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, said sleeve being tight upon the said ferrule.

Where the stem 15 of the clamping member 14 is screwed into the base of the clasp 3, I preferably form in the said base around the perforation therein a groove 23 at the inner side of the base which forms a corresponding annular rib or boss 24 at the outside of the base. This gives increased surface to the walls of the perforation, so that screw threads for the threaded stem 15 can better be formed thereon.

Obviously, the head 1 can be of other shapes than the one particularly shown, so long as it presents convexly curved exterior surfaces adapted to receive the grasping arms of the clasp 3, and the expression ball terminal herein is to be understood accordingly.

It will be noted that the annular bosses at the inner sides of the arms 2, 2 of the clasps 3 are arranged close to the end edges of said arms, and the end of the clasp provides a flaring opening into which the ball 1 is readily forced. A little pressure is all that is needed, therefore, to engage the two terminals of my improved connection. It will also be noted that the annular bosses 5 are transversely rounded upon a curve whose ends lie in the plane of the arm, so that there is no possibility of an edge engaging the ball terminal, but only the side surface of the boss.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. An electrical connection terminal, comprising a clamping. member having a threaded stem and a disk-like head larger than said stem having in its periphery a transverse slot substantially parallel to said stem adapted to receive a conductor, a ferrule slidably fitting said head and having a closed end centrally perforated to .receive said stem, said ferrule wholly inclosing said head and projecting therebeyond so as to hold the conductor in its said slot, and a second clamping member screwing on said threaded stem and adapted to clamp the ferrule against the disk-like head.

2. An' electrical connection terminal, comprising a clamping member having a threaded stem and a disk-like head larger than said stem having inits periphery circumferentially separated transverse slots substantially parallel to said stem and adapted to receive the branches of a bifurcated end of a conductor, a second clamping member screwing on said threaded stem and adapted to clamp the ends of said branches against said disk-like head, and a tubular member slidably fitting said head and extending beyond both ends of the same to hold said branches in said notches or grooves.

3. An electrical connection terminal, comprising a clamping member having a threaded stem and a disk-like headlarger than said stem having in its periphery circum'ferentially separated transverse slots substantially parallel to said stem and adapted to receive the branches of a bifurcated end of a conductor, a ferrule slidably fitting said head and having a closed end centrally perforated to receive said stem, said ferrule inclosing said head so as to hold said branches of the bifurcated end of the conductor, in said notches or grooves, and a second clamping member screwing on said threaded stem and adapted to clamp the ferrule against the disk-like head.

4. The combination with a terminal having a convexly rounded outer surface, of a resilient sheet-metal arm having an annular boss raised out of the plane of the arm and transversely rounded on a curve whose ends lie in said plane of the arm, said boss bein of smaller diameter than the diameter of said convexly rounded outer surface and adapted to engage the same, means for engaging the opposite side of said terminal, and aconductor connected to said arm.

5. The combination with a ball terminal, of a clasp having resilient sheet metal arms adapted to grasp between themselves the said ball, said arms each having at the inner side an annular boss raised out of the plane of the arm and transversely rounded on a curve whose ends lie in said plane of the arm, said bosses being of smaller diameter than the ball terminal and adapted to engage the same at opposite sides, and a conductor connected to said clasp.

6. The combination with a terminal having a convexly rounded outer surface, of a resilient sheet-metal arm having a perforation and around said perforation an annular boss raised'out 'of'the plane of the arm, said boss being transversely rounded on a curve whose ends lie in said plane of the arm, means for engaging the opposite side of said terminal, and a conductor connected to said arm.

7. The combination with a ball terminal, curve whose ends lie in said plane of the of a clasp having resilient sheet-metal arms arm, and a conductor connected to said adapted to grasp between themselves the clasp. said ball, said arms each having a perfora- PRESTON E. GILLING.

5 tion and around said perforation an annu- In the presence oflar boss raised out of the plane of the arm, RUSSELL M. EVERETT, said boss being transversely rounded on a FRANCES E. BLODGETT. 

